I’m also not absolutely sure why I love Shoujo so much. But I guess it’s probably because of the likeable and relatable female leads, the cheesy and romance, the out-of-the-world storylines, and the ドS (do-S i.e. one who gets pleasure from oppressing; sadistic) and ツンデレ (tsundere; a colloquial term, to mean being cold normally but can get very passionate when intimate; hot-cold personality) personalities.

I’ve come up with my personal Best of Shoujo list, and also included some bonuses as I think those are really worth recommending too!

Needless to say, this makes it to the top of my list. It was immensely popular back in the early 2000s because of Taiwan’s F4, but I first knew about this series because of its anime. Subsequently, I fell in love with the Japan TV drama series, starring none other than Matsumoto Jun of Arashi and Inoue Mao. I loved their chemistry and in particular, the second series in 2007 and the movie in 2008.

If I hadn’t done my research on this, I wouldn’t know that there was a movie released in 1995! I just watched it and found it interesting because it shows what’s popular in that generation. To note, the leads of the movie, Uchida Yuki, Tanihara Shosuke and Fujiki Naohito are actually still pretty popular and active actors now!

What makes me love it?

The development of friendship, and the relationship between Tsukusa and Tsukushi

I first fell in love with this series because of the anime. I found Sawako so adorable and likeable! In a way, I related to her story of being mistaken. Kazehaya, who eventually developed liking for her, is also one of the shyest male leads ever. Hence, their interactions are always so cute!

I loved the anime so much that I made my first purchase of Japanese manga. Then I started following the series and I loved the manga even more! It details a lot more than the anime and the illustration is superb. However, the movie adaptation was quite a letdown despite having popular personalities like Miura Haruma and Tabe Mikako headlining it. Reason being because the movie lacked the essence of the characters.

What makes me love it?

A good balance of romance and friendship – not only focused on Kazehaya and Sawako, but also on the stories of their friends

I remember shedding buckets of tears for the movie. The love story between Mayu and Takuma is so heart wrenching. In particular, I loved the way the movie adaptation rolled out. There are several significant differences between the movie and its original manga, but I felt the movie’s depiction was more realistic. On the other hand, the manga was a little draggy.

This is also one of Okada Masaki’s works that left a deeper impression.

I first watched this anime before the movie caught my attention. I got to watch it for free during last year’s Japan Film Festival Singapore 2016. I think the Black Prince has possibly overtaken both Tsukusa (Hana Yori Dango) and Kazehaya (Kimi ni Todoke) to become first in my Shoujo male leads’ list. I love his singlemindedness and passionate love for Erika when he made that realization.

Unlike the movie adaptation of Kimi ni Todoke, I felt that movie adaptation of Ookami Shoujo was appropriate and has its merits. One being the leads’ chemistry was awesome (Yamazaki Kento and Nikaido Fumi), the is that the briefness of the movie also didn’t shortchange the narrative at all. In fact, some of the key scenes were super well done.

What makes me love it?

The development from an unrequited love (from the girl’s end) to a mutual one

Simply by looking at the sheer number of TV drama and movie adaptations, no one can deny that Itazura na Kiss is possibly one of the most popular Shoujo. Despite its manga series’ end in 1999, the adaptations have never stopped. It includes adaptations as recent as this year! I’m quite looking forward to the Japanese movies if they become available.

The new cast for the movie looks interesting, but the best adaptation for me would be the Taiwan series in 2005 & 2007, coming is second is the Itazura na Kiss ~ Love in TOKYO in 2013 & 2014. Surprisingly, the cast of the newer Japan TV drama adaptation was very fitting. I loved how Miki Honoka creates this ‘upgraded’ version of Kotoko, and the casting for Naoki (Furukawa Yuki) was just perfect too. And very much alike the other adaptations, the significant difference in height was just right.

What makes me love it?

The resilience of Kotoko

Naoki’s passion, especially in second series of both the Taiwan and Japan TV drama adaptations

Since this is a completed manga series, the development and growth from high school to working life was dynamic and engaging

This is one of the latest shoujo manga adapted Japan TV drama series. It’s quite a typical development between the male and female lead. But what’s hot in the topic is actually the series’ ending song, Hoshino Gen’s Koi. The dance has inspired so many people to upload their own covers! Been a while since that has happened after PPAP (lol).

Strictly speaking, this doesn’t fall under Shoujo category. But I love it because of its humour and its semi-satire take on Shoujo related content. It’s an original 4-panel web comic. If you can read Japanese, you can even read the latest free on their website!